4. Statement by the First Minister: Review of the Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No. 5) (Wales) Regulations 2020

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:23 pm on 19 May 2021.

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Photo of Huw Irranca-Davies Huw Irranca-Davies Labour 3:23, 19 May 2021

Congratulations to you all. It's good to be back, it is.

First Minister, I'm delighted to tell you I'll be heeding your advice: if you can arrange the weather, I will indeed be holidaying in Wales, in a tent in Cardigan bay and then in the Llŷn peninsula. So, if Welsh Government can organise the weather, please, I'd be delighted.

I've got one specific question, and, if you need to write to me, I'll fully understand that. But I've been trying desperately to get to the bottom of this question, for, as has been mentioned in the Chamber, we are a musical nation, a singing nation. I've had performers approach me, because there is good advice now and guidance on how you can sing, and choirs are starting to go back to rehearsal indoors and so on. But it's the question of singing in bars and cafes as part of background ambience, not overdoing it and so on—not a rock-and-roll night and so on—because the advice seems to suggest it can. In fact, the really good advice I had from special advisers goes through a list of how to do it and says, 'Complete a specific risk assessment if performing in social settings such as bars and restaurants.' But I can tell you that local authorities through the land, and shared regulatory services, are, perhaps understandably, being a lot more cautious. The man from the council and the woman from the council, they say 'no'. So, could you just clarify for us, either today or in writing separately, whether or not performers—sole performers playing quiet music in the background—are able to perform in licensed settings, not with alcohol themselves? Are they able to do it or—? Is it a 'yes' or a 'no' or is it a 'maybe'?